Curtis Opera Theatre Presents Rossini’s ‘La Cenerentola’ May 1 Through 4 at the Prince Music Theater

PHILADELPHIA, PA–April 30–The story of Cinderella comes to life in the Curtis Opera Theatre’s production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola May 1 through 4 at the Prince Music Theater. The Curtis Opera Theatre presents this fully staged production, sung in Italian with English supertitles, with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.

A modern update of a classic fairy tale, the Cinderella story is told via the film world with the stepsisters as fading reality television stars, the father as their agent, and the handsome prince as a famous movie director trying to cast his latest feature film. Despite the selfish scheming and machinations of her relatives, a happy ending is still in store for Cinderella as she finds the fame and love she deserves.

La Cenerentola is directed by Kevin Hourigan and conducted by Ari Pelto. Scenic and costume design is by Nick Vaughan and lighting design is by Yi Zhao. Performances take place on Thursday, May 1 through Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 4 at 2:30 p.m. The Prince Music Theater is located at 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

Tickets are $35 and are available from the Curtis Ticket Office at (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.

Ari Pelto is in demand at opera houses, ballet companies, orchestras, and conservatories throughout the United States. After his 2004 debut at New York City Opera with Verdi’s La traviata, he was engaged as a regular guest there, returning for Madama Butterfly, La bohème, and Carmen. In 2013 he was appointed artistic advisor to Opera Colorado. He also serves as principal guest conductor for Opera Memphis.

Mr. Pelto works regularly at the country’s most prestigious young artist programs. At San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program he has conducted Così fan tutte and Britten’s Rape of Lucretia. At Wolf Trap, he led acclaimed new productions of Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni. He recently premiered new productions of Figaro and Falstaff at the New National Theatre (Tokyo). For the Curtis Opera Theatre, he has conducted The Rake’s Progress and Don Giovanni. A regular guest conductor at the Atlanta Ballet, Mr. Pelto recently conducted Jean-Christoph Maillot’s acclaimed production of Prokofiev’s Romeo et Juliette, and collaborated in 2012 with Twyla Tharp on the world premiere of her first story ballet, The Princess and the Goblin.

Kevin Hourigan, stage director, was the assistant director for Curtis Opera’s production of Dialogues of the Carmelites earlier this season. He recently directed Talk to Me about Shame (New York International Fringe Festival), Gentlemen of Kentucky (Dixon Place), and Magellanica (Access Theater). He has served as assistant director for Rachel Chavkin (The TEAM’s RoosevElvis), Nicky Silver, John Jesurun, Mike Donahue, and Laura Savia; and was assistant director for Randy Weiner’s immersive spectacle Queen of the Night. Mr. Hourigan was a member of the Williamstown Directing Corps in 2012 and an SDC Observer for CSC’s Caucasian Chalk Circle. He attends the Yale School of Drama this fall to pursue his MFA in directing.

Based in New York, Nick Vaughan has created sets and costumes for Il barbiere di Siviglia, La bohème, L’Enfant et les sortileges, Seven Deadly Sins, Il trittico, A Soldier’s Tale, Master Peter’s Puppet Show, Turn of the Screw, Albert Herring, The Beggar’s Opera, and The Rape of Lucretia, all at Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Music Festival. Other recent projects include How to Break and Sounding (HERE), Lily’s Revenge (HERE/Taylor Mac), and The Marriage of Figaro and L’Ormindo (Curtis Opera Theatre). He received the 2005 NYC Fringe award for outstanding set design, the 2005 USITT Oren Parker award for set design, and the Lloyd Weninger award for stage design.

The Curtis Opera Theatre, under the artistic direction of Mikael Eliasen, works with established professional directors and designers to create fresh interpretations of standard repertoire and contemporary works. All of Curtis’s 25 voice and opera students are cast repeatedly each season, receiving a rare level of performance experience. As a result Curtis graduates have sung with opera companies all over the world, including La Scala, Covent Garden, the Vienna Staatsoper, Houston Grand Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera.

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians for careers as performing artists on the highest professional level. One of the world’s leading conservatories, Curtis provides its 168 students with full-tuition scholarships and personalized attention from a celebrated faculty. Its distinctive “learn by doing” approach has produced an impressive number of notable artists, from such legends as Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber to current stars Jonathan Biss, Juan Diego Flórez, Alan Gilbert, Hilary Hahn, Jennifer Higdon, and Lang Lang. Curtis alumni hold principal chairs in every major American orchestra, and each season they are featured as guest soloists with the world’s leading orchestras, opera houses, and chamber music series.

Curtis’s innovative programs encourage students to perform often and hone 21st-century musical skills. The school’s facilities offer superb spaces for music-making, as well as state-of-the-art technologies to enhance learning. In addition to more than 200 performances in and around Philadelphia each year, students perform internationally with Curtis On Tour. When they graduate, they become musical leaders, making a profound impact on music around the globe. To learn more, visit www.curtis.edu.